Baby Carrier

ABSTRACT

An improved baby carrier is disclosed that includes a monopod leg coupled to a sitting element for supporting the weight of a baby or toddler. In some implementations, the baby carrier includes a detachable sitting element coupled to the monopod leg to support the carrying load and an attachment harness to attach the sitting element and monopod leg to a carrying individual. The monopod leg can be telescopic and include controls for coarse and fine height adjustment of the sitting element, covering a range from, for example, below to above the waist level of the carrying individual. The attachment harness securely attaches the sitting element and monopod leg to a waistband worn by the carrying individual using an attachment cable. In some implementations, the attachment harness can include a baby waistband that attaches to the waistband and/or shoulder straps worn by the carrying individual using attachment cables and clips.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/243,818, filed Apr. 2, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure is related generally to baby carriers.

BACKGROUND

Conventional baby carriers often deploy a flexible strap or rigged harness that attaches the baby to the upper body of an adult. When carrying the baby for an extended period of time the weight of the baby can inflict physical stress on the body of the carrying adult, resulting in discomfort. Additionally, many baby carriers specify a carrying weight upper bound that prevents use of the bay carrier for heavier babies or toddlers.

SUMMARY

An improved baby carrier is disclosed that includes a monopod leg coupled to a sitting element for supporting the weight of a baby or toddler. In some implementations, the baby carrier includes a detachable sitting element coupled to the monopod leg to support the carrying load and an attachment harness to attach the sitting element and monopod leg to a carrying individual. The monopod leg can be telescopic and include controls for coarse and fine height adjustment of the sitting element, covering a range from, for example, below to above the waist level of the carrying individual. The monopod leg includes a mounting head that securely supports the sitting element. The sitting element has a profile designed for sitting comfort under a variety of holding positions as well as compactness.

The attachment harness securely attaches the sitting element and monopod leg to a waistband worn by the carrying individual using an attachment cable. In some implementations, the attachment harness can include a baby waistband that attaches to the waistband and/or shoulder straps worn by the carrying individual using attachment cables and clips. Other features include but are not limited to: a non-skid or non-sink tip or roller wheel tip for the monopod leg, retractable support legs, sitting element profile variations and shoulder strap and waistband attachment adjustment.

An advantage of the disclosed baby carrier over conventional baby carries is that it is designed to offload the weight of the baby or toddler to a monopod leg, resulting in less physical stress on the carrying adult. A variety of other features of the baby carrier described herein provide additional advantages over conventional baby carriers.

The details of the disclosed implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the baby carrier in operation where an adult is holding a baby in the front and the baby is sitting on a sitting element coupled to a telescopic monopod leg that is attached to an adult waistband.

FIG. 2 illustrates the baby carrier in operation, where the adult is holding the baby on the side, the baby is sitting on the sitting element and the telescopic monopod leg is attached to the adult waistband.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the sitting element showing an attachment ring of a monopod leg cable for attaching to the adult waistband and an attachment handle for attaching the sitting element to a monopod leg head mount.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the telescopic monopod leg in a compact profile showing primary and secondary height control buttons for coarse and fine height adjustment of the sitting element and a mounting head.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the telescopic monopod leg in an extended profile showing the sitting element mounted on the top of the telescopic monopod leg.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sitting element.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the monopod leg head mount shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the monopod leg with an optional wheel support.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the baby carrier with the adult waistband on an adult and a detailed view of the monopod leg cable attached to the adult waistband.

FIG. 10 is a back view of the baby carrier with the adult waistband on an adult and a detailed view of a waistband adjustment buckle.

FIG. 11 illustrates the baby carrier in operation where an adult is holding a baby on the side, the baby is sitting on the sitting element, the telescopic monopod leg is attached to the adult waistband and the baby is wearing a baby waistband that is attached to an adult shoulder strap.

FIG. 12 illustrates the front and back view of the adult shoulder strap worn on an adult.

FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate the adult shoulder strap with front strap attachments and a baby waistband.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example monopod leg having a flanged non-sink cover tip.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example baby carrier as an add-on component to a conventional baby carrier.

The same reference symbol used in various drawings indicates like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a baby carrier in operation where adult 2 is holding baby 1 in front of and on the side of the body. Baby 1 is supported by detachable sitting element 3 coupled to monopod leg 4. Monopod leg attachment cable 5 is attached to adult waistband 6 worn by adult 2 to secure monopod leg 4 to adult 2 and to constrain the motion of monopod leg 4. In some implementations, monopod leg 4 is telescopic. In the discussion that follows, the carrying individual is also referred to as “adult” and the infant or child to be carried is also referred to as “baby.” It should be understood that the baby carrier can be used by a teenager and the baby could be a toddler. FIGS. 3-8 illustrate an implementation of telescopic monopod leg 4 with detachable sitting element 3.

In some implementations, sitting element 3 includes mounting handle 9 (FIG. 3) having inside rotating tracks 23 (FIG. 6), that mate with rotating tracks of monopod leg mounting head 10 (FIG. 7), thus securely attaching sitting element 3 to monopod leg 4. In other implementations, sitting element 3 can be attached to monopod leg 4 using a locking mechanism (See FIG. 5) or with a bolt assembly. Sitting element 3 includes a comfortable contoured seating profile with hills 21 and valleys 22 (FIG. 6). The sitting element 3 can optionally include a seatbelt, padding and a compartment for holding food or a bottle. Attachment ring 8 couples monopod attachment cable 5 to the side of monopod leg 4. In some implementations, the width of the sitting area of sitting element 3 can be mechanically adjusted using levers or other mechanisms. In some implementations, sitting element can have an extended portion that is perpendicular to the sitting area to provide a back support for the baby.

FIG. 4 is a front view of monopod leg 4 in a compact profile showing primary and secondary height control buttons 11, 13 for coarse and fine height adjustment of sitting element 3 and mounting head 10. FIG. 5 is a front view of monopod leg 4 in an extended profile, showing sitting element 3 mounted on the top of monopod leg 4.

Due to the varying adult heights and the variety of baby holding and carrying positions, the ideal height of sitting element 3 from ground can have a wide range. The baby carrier includes dual height adjustment controls: a coarse and a fine height adjustment controlled by button 13 and button 11. Element 12 connects the coarse range segment (below element 12) and fine range segment (above element 12). The coarse control sets monopod leg 4 to a preferred height range, usually determined by the height of the carrying adult. The fine control finely tunes the height of sitting element 3 for different holding positions. Button 11, being close to sitting element 3 is easily accessible by the carrying adult.

Referring to FIG. 5, the coarse range segment includes top section 18, mid-section 20 and base section 14. Button 13, together with locking node 46, controls the length of the coarse range segment. When pushing control button 13, top section 18 and mid-section 20 can be extended as shown in FIG. 5. Locking node 46 locks to different node positions, such as node position 19 of top section 18, upon button 13 being released. At the same time mid-section 20 extends its length. In a fully extended configuration, top section 18, mid-section 20 and base section 14 have about the same length. Button 11, with locking node 45, controls the length of the fine range segment. When pushing control button 11, fine range section 16 can be extended. The locking node 45 locks to different node positions, such as node position 17 of fine range segment extension section 16, upon button 11 being released. In some implementations, non-skid base tip 15 adds stability to the baby carrier. It also acts as an anchor tip when adult holds baby in a swing mode.

FIG. 8 shows an implementation of an optional roller wheel 24 attached to the tip of monopod leg 4. Roller wheel 24 can be used to move the baby carrier around. In some implementations, roller wheel 24 can be retracted or stopped (e.g., by a foot brake) when the baby carrier is stationary. In the example shown, extension and retraction controls 47 and 48 (e.g., push buttons) control the extension and retraction of roller wheel 24. As shown in FIG. 14, in some implementations, monopod leg 4 includes a non-sink cover tip 1402 that is flanged or otherwise configured to prevent the tip of monopod leg 4 from sinking into a soft walking surface (e.g., mud).

In some implementations, base section 14 of monopod leg 4 can include retractable or fold out support legs (not shown) that can be deployed by the foot of adult 2 using a mechanical lever protruding from base section 14 (not shown) or other suitable deployment mechanism. The support legs can provide additional stability for sitting element 3 when the adult is standing stationary for a long period of time, thus reducing the stress on the waist of adult 2.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the baby carrier with the adult waistband on an adult and a detailed view of the monopod leg cable attached to the adult waistband. FIG. 9 shows one implementation of attaching monopod leg 4 to adult 2 via monopod leg cable 5 to adult waistband 6. Element 26 (D-ring, O-ring) is fixed onto adult waistband 6 with stitches 27 or other known attachment mechanism (e.g., rivets). Clip 28 clips to element 26. Adult waistband 6 can be put on and off easily with adjustable buckle 29 having mating part 30 and adjustable fastener 31, as illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 illustrates the baby carrier in operation where an adult is holding a baby on the side, the baby is sitting on the sitting element, the telescopic monopod leg is attached to the adult waistband and the baby is wearing baby waistband 36 that is attached to adult shoulder straps 32 with attachment cable 38. Shoulder straps 32 include attachments 33, as shown in more detail in FIG. 13.

FIG. 12 shows the adult shoulder strap front portion 32 a and back portion 32 b. Front portion 32 a, with a left piece and a right piece, extends up from the waistband to the shoulder. The left and right pieces then pass the adult shoulders and extend downward, cross over and end at the adult waistband 6 on the back. Front portion 32 a is usually wider, with attachments 33 for attachment cable 38 to clip on. The lengths of shoulder straps 32 are adjustable, supported by back portion loop around elements 44 and length adjustment elements 43.

FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate adult shoulder straps 32 with attachments 33 and baby waistband 36. Baby waistband 36 is easily put on and off with clips 39. Buckle 40 with mating part 41 and 42, incorporates a built-in fastener 41 to adjust the length of baby waistband 36. Attachment cables 38 attach baby waistband 36 at attachments 37 and use clips 39 to attach to attachments 33 of adult front shoulder straps 32. The length of attachment cables 38 can be adjusted with elements 49.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the baby carrier can be an add-on component to a conventional baby carrier 1500 without the monopod leg. Additionally, the monopod leg can be used as a multifunctional device to mount other objects, such as camera, bow, or other carrying loads such as backpacks, etc. The baby carrier include a storage compartment (e.g., a slide out drawer) in the sitting element. The top of the sitting element can include a compartment or other mechanism for holding an object (e.g., a baby bottle). A baby bottle could also be attached under the sitting element or on the monopod leg. The sitting element can include an attachment cable or structure for toys for the baby to play with. The monopod leg can be locked by twisting concentric sections of the monopod leg using a clockwise or counterclockwise rotating motion. The bottom of the sitting element can include rails, grooves or other mechanical structures to facilitate mating with rails, grooves or other mechanical structures in a car seat or stroller.

Elements of one or more implementations may be combined, deleted, modified, or supplemented to form further implementations. The logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of supporting a baby or toddler, the method comprising: obtaining a support device, the support device comprising: a monopod leg, a sitting element attached to the monopod leg, and an attachment harness; securing the attachment harness to an adult; and positioning the baby or toddler on the sitting element.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment harness comprises an adult waistband and shoulder straps, and wherein the securing the attachment harness to the adult comprises: securing the adult waistband about a waist of the adult; and positioning the shoulder straps across the adult's shoulders.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the adult waistband comprises a first loop, and wherein securing the adult waistband about the waist of the adult comprises positioning the first loop such that the first loop encircles the waist of the adult.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the support device further comprises a baby waistband attached to the attachment harness, and wherein the method further comprises securing the baby waistband about a waist of the baby or toddler.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the baby waistband comprises a second loop, and wherein securing the baby waistband about the waist of the baby or toddler comprises positioning the second loop such that the second loop encircles the waist of the baby or toddler.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first loop is distinct from the second loop.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the adult waistband is secured to the waist of the adult, the first loop does not encircle any portion of the baby or toddler.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein when the baby waistband is secured to the waist of the baby or toddler, the second loop does not encircle any portion of the adult.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning the baby or toddler on the sitting element comprises supporting the baby or toddler on the sitting element such that a weight of the baby or toddler is not supported by the attachment harness.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the support device further comprises a support structure attached to the monopod leg opposite the sitting element.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the support structure comprises a wheel.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the support structure comprises support legs.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the support structure comprises a non-skid tip.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the support structure comprises a non-sink cover tip. 